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Tag Archives: Tea

My dear friend and her daughter took me to a magical tea tasting room called The Cultured Cupat 13714 Gamma Rd. #104, Dallas, TX 75244 and it was a delightful experience. I didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into when we entered a nondescript building with minimal signage and walked through an office work area to fine a tasting room. There were nine of us tasting teas while we were there, three young couples and the three of us. The tasting room is open on the weekends and features different selections each time. Our guide, Kyle, was also happy to brew other teas that we were interested in. What struck me the most was just how welcoming and knowledgeable Kyle, one of the co-owners, was as he spent almost an hour introducing us to tea. He obviously has a passion about the history and process of making tea. To see him in action, go here. Anyway, I was so enchanted by the whole experience that I forgot to take a good photo, but their website has many lovely pictures and is an education unto itself.

The Harp & Shamrock at 2704 North Proctor is a delightful store which specializes in all things Irish. They had some lovely outerwear items that I adored. They also had hats, scarfs, food, trinkets, jewelry and a bunch of other things. I purchased some Irish Tea because dear daughter had proclaimed that the Irish had the best tea! And indeed when we tried it, the taste was excellent. Though dear daughter shouldn’t have had three cups and stayed up most of the night!

Anthem Coffee & Tea at 1911 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, in front of the Washington State History Museum has been open since November 2011. Dear daughter and I visited today to purchase delicious drink treats and to share a tasty sandwich, which came from Joseppi’s. Anthem has a nice vibe to it, stylish and comfortable. And the folks behind the counter were super nice!

The Panama Hotel Coffee and Tea House at 607 South Main Street in the International District of Seattle has a fine selection of teas and plenty of history. I learned of it because my book group read The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Though it is a work of fiction, it is based on historical facts about the treatment of the West Coast Japanese during World War II. The book opens with artifacts being found in the basement of the hotel and now a days one can view some of these artifacts through a plexiglass in the floor.

Today I had parental obligations and found myself near the University of Washington Tacoma campus. I took the first parking spot I came to and found myself in front of the recently opened Bubble Tea Shop at 1712 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma. It was great to see a new business along the strip. We enjoyed our bubble teas and thought the shop had the coolest black tables.

One of my favorite group of friends gathered today at Green Spot Tea and Art Gallery at 3318 Bridgeport Way University Place, WA 98466. For lunch I had a pot of Ginger Tea ($2.00), a Verrrry Spicy Ranch and Grilled Chicken ($6.50) and a key lime tart ($3.00) for a grand total of $11.50. That is a lot of great food for the price! And I brought 1/2 the wrap back home with me.

I really like the decor at the Green Spot, it has clean lines and not a bunch of cute clutter like many tea stores. The hanging show of fabric based art was lovely.

Wow! Vien Dong at 3801 Yakima Avenue in Tacoma’s Lincoln District has some tasty Vietnamese food and so reasonably priced. I was delighted (delighted, I tell you!) to meet a dear friend here for the first time. We both had the #11 (pho) with a fresh spring roll. It was the best pho I’d ever had and there was so very much of it that I had enough for lunch today. It says a lot for a restaurant when it is still very busy at 2 in the afternoon. The restaurant itself isn’t fancy, but the food makes it worth the trip.

Today’s new place was extra special because dear daughter and I went to the Empress Hotel for afternoon tea. We had tried to do this once before in the summer, but it was impossible to get in.

The tea was an experience! Much more refined than our usual Starbucks break with a gorgeous, classic interior and dignified, warm service. They seated us by the window and we happily visited and watched the city walking by us. There was a pianist for most of the time that we were there.

As for the tea, it included five types of finger sandwiches, a marvelous scone and assorted treats. I’m embarrassed to say that we ate almost all of it! We were sent home with two boxes of tea to help us recreate the experience

Today the ladies and I lunched at Affairs Cafe & Bakery and listened to a great program about the Broadway Center. I’ve been coming to Affairs on occasion for years and remember when they had a fire in October 2000 that closed them for some time. They are justly known for their truffles, cheesecakes, catering and delicious breakfasts and lunches.

Oh, and I also included a photo of a cool dinosaur that we discovered today!